Life

Rookie Lessons: Calm as a Congresswoman

Kyrsten Sinema took her fear of the open water and turned it into a love of triathlon. You can too.

by Jennifer Ward Barber

Last November, Arizona Congresswoman Kyrsten Sinema completed her first full IRONMAN in her home state. Despite having nine marathons under her belt (Boston this year will be her tenth), triathlon scared her. A year before race day, she couldn't swim a single stroke. Now? "It's dangerous, I could talk about IRONMAN forever."

Though a busy election year will be keeping Sinema from racing another full this year, she has the Boston marathon and IRONMAN 70.3 Boulder on the docket to help keep her motivated. "I want to be focused 100 percent on my constituents," she says. In a non-election year, she intends to go back up to the full distance.

We caught up with Sinema now that a few months have passed since she successfully trained for and completed IRONMAN Arizona (click here for the story), to get her unique perspective on race-day lessons.

Ironman.com: What were some of the most important lessons you learned on race day?

Kyrsten Sinema: The biggest lessons came before race day. Without a coach I probably would've overtrained in running and undertrained on the bike. Having a coach to give me guidance, and in what proportions to do those, was really helpful. Speed work made a huge difference in my running. I was stronger and faster than ever.

Did you do anything during the race that you would never do again?

From years of marathon running, I knew the "never try something on race day" rule. I practiced all my nutrition ahead of time, and rode the bike route prior. For me, race day was really just a long training day. I would recommend this to all IRONMAN hopefuls. Practice and test out different things in training, so that on race day you're just automatically doing what you've been doing for months.

I also don't like surprises. I knew what flavors, clothing and nutrition I'd be using, and only made one last-minute change in my race-day kit. (Sinema had trained a little in the team shirt she'd planned to use, but opted for a top she'd worn 100 times before. "It didn't look as cool, but that's not what mattered," she says.)

The only thing I didn't expect was getting hit by a tumbleweed and knocked off the bike. I went down hard. I've crashed my bike before, so I knew what to do—get off make sure no bones are sticking out, test your brakes and get back on. On the other hand, what says IRONMAN Arizona more than being attacked by a tumbleweed?

You're not shy about the swim being your biggest battle.

I literally had to learn how to swim. I didn't know how to blow bubbles in the water. I surrounded myself with the right people to help me train appropriately.

What were some of the key lessons you learned from your swim coaches? (Olympic gold-medalist Misty Hyman and triathlon coach Ann Wilson.)

Misty taught me everything. Stroke, buoyancy, timing. She started from scratch. Next in line was my triathlon coach, Ann Wilson. She'd take me out to lakes in Arizona to overcome my fear of open water swimming. I had big issues around it. I also did a bunch of shorter races first—I don’t' think I would've made it otherwise. I was born and raised in Tucson—the open water was just completely foreign to me. In Tempe Town Lake you can't even see your hand if it's in front of your face. That's very different from the pool.

On race day, what strategies did you use to keep calm in the swim?

By my last Olympic-distance race I had gotten over my fear, for a total of three panic-free races under my belt. It just takes time and exposure.

When I jumped in the water on race day I swam over to the left and to the back. One of the things that bothers me is contact with other people—that triggers serious panic. This also decreases your chances of getting injured.

Ann also gave me some drills to do while in the water waiting, which keeps your heart rate down and your brain engaged. (See below for the drills.)

10 strokes focusing on easy inhale: breathe in just enough, you will be back for your next breath in less than two and a half seconds.

10 strokes focusing on solid exhale: good puff of air out as nose/mouth transition through surface - hear the sound of air leaving your nose.

10 strokes focusing on easy kick: there is no greater energy-wasting, anxiety-inducing, movement than a panicked kick that is overwhelming the stroke

Sinema will be part of an eight-woman team running the Boston marathon together, raising money for two charities: Team MR8—the foundation established in the memory of Martin Richard, the 8-year-old victim of the Boston bombings, (donate here), and OneFund Boston, the foundation established to support all the Boston bombing victims (donate here). Watch her team's promotional video to learn more.